Alexander Lukashenko

Ljubljana – Senior Slovenian officials have condemned actions by Belarus after a Rynair flight was forced to land in Minsk. Prime Minister Janez Janša voiced support for sanctions, while President Borut Pahor and the Foreign Ministry called for an independent investigation.

Upon request by High Representative Josep Borrell, the Secretary-General of the European External Action Service, Stefano Sannino, summoned the Belarus Ambassador to the EU, Aleksandr Mikhnevich, to condemn the inadmissible step of the Belarusian authorities, who forced a civilian plane to perform an emergency landing in Minsk and detained its passenger Raman Pratasevich, an independent Belarus

According to the "LRT" portal, the Lithuanian Ministry considers that the current regime in Minsk is "dangerous for the lives of civilians".

Police officers detain journalist Roman Protasevich attempting to cover a rally in Minsk, Belarus, 26 March 2017. Photo: EPA-EFE/STRINGER

Belarus has been accused of "hijacking" a civilian airliner by forcing a Ryanair passenger flight to land in the country using a fake bomb threat so that authorities could arrest a prominent critic of its authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko.

Belarus forced a passenger plane carrying a wanted opposition activist to divert and land in its capital, provoking a furious outcry from world leaders who described it as an "act of state terrorism" ahead of an EU summit on May 24 expected to toughen sanctions on Minsk.

Journalists from the Belarusian opposition news portal Nexta have accused long-time leader Alexander Lukashenko of large-scale corruption in a online video with millions of views.

Almost 2 million people had already watched the video of the investigation titled "Lukashenko: A gold mine," one day after it was posted to YouTube by a group of journalists exiled in Poland.

Two in one. In a nutshell this is the characteristic of the period in which we live, according to the best political astrologers in the world. Ukrainian Konstantin Daragan and Russian with German passport Pavel Globa, who have proven themselves over the years with some of their most accurate predictions, have already published their forecasts for 2021.

More than 300 protesters were remanded in custody pending trial following this Sunday's mass rallies in Belarus, authorities said today.

Mass protests in Belarus are being held every weekend for nearly five months as the political opposition remains determined in its efforts to remove President Alexander Lukashenko from power.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said he had secured a pledge from Russia to provide comprehensive assistance if needed to ensure the security of his country in a phone call with President Vladimir Putin on Aug. 15.